TheLibrary

The art of not "playing to pictures" in British cinemas, 1906-1914

Burrows, Jon
(2013)
The art of not "playing to pictures" in British cinemas, 1906-1914.
In: Brown, Julie and Davison, Annette, (eds.)
The Sounds of the Silents in Britain.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 9780199797615
(In Press)

Abstract

It is traditionally thought that during the first ten years in which permanent cinemas became established in Britain, the accompaniment to silent films was typically supplied by lone pianists who improvised musical themes that subserviently complemented narrative developments as they unfolded on screen. This chapter acknowledges that, following a period in which mechanical musical devices predominated, this model was widely espoused around 1909–10. But it argues that such practices quickly fell out of fashion. Using the evidence of cinema licensing records, as well as debates published in the film-industry trade press, the chapter demonstrates that miniature orchestras had been installed in the majority of cinemas in London by 1913 and that such orchestras rarely attempted to tightly synchronize their music with the films they accompanied.